THIS WEEKEND Despite
a massive winter storm in the northeast portion of the country which wiped
out plenty of moviegoing plans, the mighty comic book hero Daredevil
powered its way to the top of the charts and led the North American
box office to a potent Presidents' Day weekend. Kidpic The
Jungle Book 2 staged a respectable opening while films with
high-profile Oscar nominations enjoyed healthy gains.

Blizzard conditions along the eastern seaboard on Sunday and Monday
significantly reduced the overall potential of the frame as distributors
across the board were forced to revise their figures to account for the
record snowfall.

Fox exploded on the scene with a huge number-one debut for the Ben Affleck-starrer
Daredevil which grossed $45M over the
long Friday-to-Monday holiday weekend, according to final
studio figures. Playing ultrawide in 3,471 theaters, the PG-13 actioner
averaged a stellar $12,974 per location over four days. The studio's revised
three-day gross was $42M, or $1.5M less than originally estimated, while
the four-day haul ended up $5M less than originally anticipated. It was
the second largest February opening ever after Hannibal's
$58M from 2001 and the second best career bow for Affleck after that same
year's Pearl Harbor which collected
$59.1M over the three-day part of its Memorial Day weekend launch. The
Daredevil gross includes ticket sales
from special Thursday night previews.

Directed by Mark Steven Johnson (Simon Birch),
Daredevil tells the tale of a blind
attorney with extraordinary senses who fights crime as a masked hero. Jennifer
Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau, and Colin Farrell co-star.
Reviews were not very positive and audiences were moderately pleased as
the film scored a mediocre B grade from moviegoers polled by CinemaScore.com.
Daredevil marks Affleck's third film
in less than a year to open at number one following Changing
Lanes and The Sum of All Fears.

With DC Comics ruling the box office in the 1980s and 90s with Superman
and Batman flicks, Marvel Comics has
become the dominant force today with X-Men,
Spider-Man, and now Daredevil
. Marvel's reign will only lengthen this year with the openings
of Fox's X-Men 2 (which had its trailer
attached to prints of Daredevil) in
May and June's The Hulk from Universal.

Couples continued to flock to see the hit romantic comedy How
To Lose A Guy in 10 Days which grossed $20.7M over four days
in its second weekend. The Paramount release averaged a strong $7,085 from
2,923 locations and boosted its eleven-day cume to $49.4M. The $30M production
stands an excellent chance of being the studio's first $100M grosser since
last May's The Sum of All Fears which
starred Ben Affleck who knocked 10 Days
out of the top spot this weekend.

Oscar front-runner Chicago, armed
with 13 nominations and 427 additional theaters, watched its holiday weekend
gross climb to $14.5M and remained in third place. The Miramax hit averaged
a healthy $6,395 per theater over four days and raised its total to $82.6M.
As it expands into new markets, Chicago
should remain a major force in the top ten throughout the spring.

With kids on a holiday break from school, Disney seized the opportunity
and opened its animated film The Jungle Book 2
which claimed fourth place with $14.1M. The G-rated sequel played in 2,808
theaters and averaged a good $5,025 per site. The bow was close to that
of the studio's kidpic from a year ago, Return
to Never Land, which was released over the same frame with $15.6M
over the four-day span. Moviegoers were pleased with The
Jungle Book 2 as it earned an A- grade from CinemaScore.com.

The action-comedy Shanghai Knights
dropped to $12.8M in its second frame. The Buena Vista sequel has grossed
a solid $35.9M in eleven days and should find its way to $65-70M. The Jackie
Chan-Owen Wilson film's predecessor, Shanghai
Noon, grossed $56.9M in 2000.

Studio stablemate The Recruit slid
down to $7.3M in its third assignment pushing its total to $39.4M. New
Line's Final Destination 2 followed
in seventh with $6.2M for a $36.1M cume.

Warner Bros. saw its kidpic Kangaroo Jack
take in $5M shooting its sum to $59M. The romantic comedy Deliver
Us From Eva fell to $4.4M in four days giving the Focus title
$12.3M in eleven days.

Armed with nine Oscar nods, Paramount's The
Hours widened its run by 454 locations and grossed $3.9M from
1,003 theaters. Averaging $3,847, the Meryl Streep-Nicole Kidman drama
has upped its gross to $26.5M and hopes to keep coasting through the season
attracting moviegoers beyond its adult female core.

Three films dropped out of the top ten over the weekend. After an eight-week
run, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
eased to $3.6M which pushed its mammoth cume to $325.4M. Last year, The
Fellowship of the Ring jumped 30% in the same period after 13
Oscar nominations were bestowed upon it and grossed $4.7M over the three-day
portion of the holiday session. Towers earned
six Academy Award nods this year.

Jack Nicholson's Oscar nomination for About
Schmidt did wonders to its box office as the New Line pic jumped
to $3.5M for a $53M cume. Sony's spooky thriller Darkness
Falls has grossed $29.9M to date and looks headed for the vicinity
of $35-38M. The DreamWorks actioner Biker Boyz
has revved up $19.3M thus far and should finish with $23-25M.

Universal expanded its cross-cultural comedy The
Guru from 62 to 98 theaters and grossed $514,788 for a solid
$5,252 average in its third weekend. The Jimi Mistry-Heather Graham title
has grossed $1.7M in 17 days.

And finally, after an unbelievable 43-week run, indie megahit My
Big Fat Greek Wedding finally departed the Top 20 and grossed
$531,331 lifting its cume to an eye-popping $240.7M. The IFC Films release
has become the top-grossing romantic comedy and the highest-grossing independent
film of all-time. It even spent more time in the Top 20 than reigning megablockbuster
Titanic which logged 35 straight weeks
in the elite group. Just released on home video, Greek
Wedding sits at number 28 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters
after 1996's Twister ($241.9M) and
should finish its run with a mammoth $243-245M.

The top ten films grossed $134M over the four-day holiday frame which
was up 15% from last year when John Q
opened at number one with $23.6M; and up 13% from 2001 when Hannibal
remained on top with $33.5M.

Compared to projections, Daredevil
opened exactly on target with my $45M four-day forecast while The
Jungle Book 2 was very close to my four-day prediction of $13M.

Take this week's NEW Reader
Survey on the future of the Star Trek
film franchise. In last week's survey, readers were asked how big they
thought Daredevil's opening would be.
Of 2,991 responses, 46% correctly said Over $40M, 40% guessed $30-40M,
and 14% thought Under $30M.

Be sure to check back on Thursday
for a complete summary, including projections, for next weekend when Old
School, The Life of David Gale,
Dark Blue, and Gods
and Generals all open.

This column is updated three times each week: Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Data source: Exhibitor
Relations, EDI. Opinions expressed
in this column are those solely of the author.